ShadowRAM: July 26, 2004

Is all this navel-gazing and Microsoft-code-namechasing really necessary? And then there are times when blog-orrhea turns sublime. Take the recent Always On confab, where VCs and high-tech execs gathered to debate the next big thing. To emphasize the "always on" shtick, organizers Webcast the event and simultaneously displayed on a screen bloggers' reactions to on-stage developments as they happened. The Stanford event struck attending journos as a victory of form over substance, and they were afforded immediate validation via some of the stream of consciousness commentary.

FCC Chairman Michael Powell once again demonstrated his ability to talk without saying anything, but even he took questions from the audience.

IBM Software's Steve Mills did not follow suit. After airily opining about how the software landscape might change, he basically ran away with no QandA. But the blog commentary spoke volumes. Example: "I know Steve Mills is talking, but is he actually saying anything? He's just a salesman. He'll say, 'But WAIT! Call one of our operators now, and we'll give you 20 percent more middleware free.' "

Folks bitching about Gmail can take heart that MSN's option is probably worse, even though Microsoft has had a lot more time to work out kinks. One pal in financial services made the mistake of sending a message to his accountant via MSN on June 25. It arrived sometime after July 4"July 14 to be exact. He could have walked it over faster. Which begs the question: Is e-mail the new snail mail?

Of course, it's all relative. One VAR, who used to be an IT exec at one of the biggest cable companies, sparked a sobering thought. After hearing from a satisfied cable customer about how much she liked her virtually spam-free mail, he replied: "That's OK. You're not getting your real mail, either. Believe me, I know." Microsoft may disparage IBM, but that hasn't stopped it from snatching up as much Big Blue talent as possible. The Big M has poached an IBM exec to drum up business in Asia-Pacific. Ronald Greenburg, a former IBMer with international sales chops, will lead the charge in Japan and China. Greenberg joins former IBM colleague Gerri Elliott, who is corporate veep of Microsoft's U.S. Enterprise Group. And yes, I spelled his name two different ways. Would love to correct that, but Microsoft's new policy is not to confirm spelling over the phone. (Huh?) A colleague here wrote that Microsoft is the new IBM. Well, it's over the edge now. It's worse than IBM ever was.

The Buckingham Research boyz were so enthused by Symantec's last quarter they sent out a report with the header: "John Thompson for president."